NHL suspends Dmitry Orlov two games for hit from behind on Brayden Schenn

News

NHL suspends Dmitry Orlov two games for hit from behind on Brayden Schenn

Dmitry Orlov laid a downright dirty hit from behind on Brayden Schenn Sunday, which the league correctly suspended him for. The length meets already accepted standards, but still, it seems the league could come down harder.

Brendan Shanahan may have one of the most thankless jobs in hockey, but sometimes he has the easiest one as well.
Take, for instance, Dmitry Orlov's foolish hit on Brayden Schenn Sunday. The Washington defenseman not only leaped into his check, which is bad enough, but he did it to a defenseless player who had his back completely turned on the play.
A suspension for Orlov was the only decision that could have been made on this play. So on Monday, Shanahan and the league handed down a two-gamer to Orlov.
Checking from behind - the bane of my existence.
It's always good when the league comes down on an obviously dirty play such as this and the length of it meets already accepted standards. But as usual, I'd like to see the NHL enforce supplemental discipline more severely on downright dirty plays like this one. Nothing about this check can be accepted.
And even though Adam Oates, a Hall of Fame player, is Orlov's coach, he doesn't need to go out of his way to defend such a play he would agonize over if it happened to him.

Capitals' Dmitry Orlov suspended two games for his hit on Brayden Schenn yesterday. Oates said it wasn't even a 5-min major penalty.
— Frank Seravalli (@DNFlyers) March 3, 2014